Eleven people in nine US states have been infected in a salmonella infection believed to have been caused by a nut butter spread, federal and health officials said on Thursday.

Health officials said the salmonella outbreak has hit eleven people in nine different states. The oldest patient is 79 years old and the youngest is one year old, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Reports indicate the infected individuals started feeling sick between July 18 and October 15 this year.

Infected cases

Although there has been no reported deaths and hospitalizations, the outbreak, nonetheless, left the infected individuals bedridden for days.

Salmonella symptoms include abdominal cramping, diarrhea and fever, which begins about 12 to 72 hours after a person is exposed to the bacteria. The infected individuals reportedly recovered from the illness in four days to a week.

The state of Oregon has reported three cases of salmonella infection, while eight more states - California, Georgia, Colorado, Idaho, Hawaii, North Carolina, New Jersey and Illinois - have reported one case each.

CDC officials said about eight patients who were interviewed admitted that they had consumed nut butter spread a week before the onset of the illness.

Six of the patients said they consumed the JEM RAW nut butter spread before they got ill.

Products recalled

On Wednesday, JEM Raw Chocolate LLC based in Oregon, the makers of a line of nut butter spreads, issued a voluntary recall for all their nut butter spread products due to potential contamination.

The company appealed to retailers to pull all its butter nut spread products that were distributed between June and November from their shelves or return them to their point of purchase.

Health officials said they have identified Salmonella Paratyphi B variant as the type of salmonella in this outbreak. They pointed out that this is the same salmonella variant found in another outbreak caused by tuna earlier this year.

The CDC said 380 salmonella-related deaths is recorded in the US every year while 19,000 people get hospitalized from the disease in the same period.

TagsSalmonella Outbreak, Nine US States, JEM Raw nut butter spread, diarrhea and fever, abdominal cramping, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), illness, Infection, JEM Raw Chocolate LLC Nut Butter Recall, JEM Raw Chocolate LLC